The term "managing the whitespace" refers to the fact that amy org chart
is merely a simplified surrogate and cannot represent what really goes
on (the whitespace is all those functions that happen in spite of the
fact they do not show up on anybody's chart).
A frequent example of whitespace is the handling of a customer complaint.
They can enter anywhere and will proceed randomly through the org until
they come to rest (not necessarily resolved!). A learning-org might be
characterized as one that decides to develop a process for complaints
when the consultant brings it to their attention that this is in fact
randomly handled today.
To be a true LO, they should probably be capable of dealing with the
issue without continued reliance on the consultant, although I admit
that, as a consultant, I do not encourage them to do it themselves.
Symptoms of a LO might include the ongoing ability to recognize and
correct whitespace issues that emerge as the inevitable result of
economic entropy and the natural emergence of chaos in any system.
-- Keith Cowan Phone: (416)565-6253 FAX: (905)764-9604 Toronto Internet: cowan@pci.on.ca Compuserve: 72212,51